Atomic Wedgie (Part 1 of 2) November 2009

Have you ever looked at the Gee's Bend quilts and thought, "They are having more fun than me!" Well, now it's your turn. This quilt is made from rows of free-hand wedge shapes. The rows are 6 inches tall, and any length you like. Scroll down to see how easy it is to make these cheerful blocks.

-

Color recipe: Choose African style fabrics, or fabrics that are compatible with them. Two fat quarters will be plenty to make an Atomic Wedgie block. You might want to fussy-cut some interesting motifs to arrange in any direction.

Cut a strip of Fabric #1 about 8 inches wide. Then cut into wedges as shown above. Cut these by eye; you don't want them all exactly the same. We're being improvisational here!

Do this again with Fabric #2 (above). Cut any number of wedges you like, since the finished blocks will be of varying lengths.

Arrange your wedges as shown above, and piece them together as shown below in Part 2. I use my 6" x 24" plastic template to be sure I'm not veering off track!

Scroll down to see Part 2.

Atomic Wedgie (Part 2 of 2)

Trim as shown below. Your block will be 6" tall x whatever length you like. The blocks will be pieced together in an improvisational fashion in the finished quilt, so length doesn't matter.

When you bring your finished block to the guild meeting, please also bring some scraps of the 2 fabrics you used (if you have any) to help the winner of the blocks "tie it all together," possibly in the border.

I was lucky to find this pair of purple print cotton pants (below) at a church tag sale in New Hampshire. I knew it would come in handy as quilt fabric someday!

This will be the first Atomic Wedgie quilt ever! (As far as I know.) If you don't know what an Atomic Wedgie is, kindly look it up on Google, and don't embarrass the BOM Squad. :)
Or ask someone who has kids in middle school.
-
We can't wait to see your blocks in November!

Amish Buggy Quilt - December 2009

The Amish make simple buggy quilts to use when riding in cold weather. If you want to try yours out, just bring it to Central Park!
-
This is a simple 16-patch block, but because the squares are fairly small, it will look awesome. Solid color fabrics will give it an Amish flavor.
-
If we all whip up a few of these pretty blocks, the lucky winner (maybe you) will have plenty to make a nice big quilt.

Directions: (See photos.)
-
1. Cut 2 strips: 2 1/4" wide x 40" long. Cut one from Color 1, and one from Color 2.
2. Sew these strips together lengthwise. Press. Cut into two approx. 20" lengths.
3. Sew these together lengthwise. Press seams toward darker color. (See above.)
4. Cut into eight 2 1/4" strips, as shown (below).
5. Reversing the direction of every other strip, sew the strips into two blocks, as shown below. This method will yield 2 blocks.
-
Color Recipe: Using solid (not patterned) fabrics, choose any two colors you like (except white). These might be high or low contrast, bright or subdued. It's your choice.

This is going to look so beautiful when we lay out the blocks at the December meeting!

-
Quilt pattern by Karen Griska. Please post your comments!

Fashion Labels Quilt (Part 1 of 2) October 2009

It would take a month of Sundays for any one of us to come up with enough labels to make this quilt, but with everyone chipping in, we can do it! And it will be amazing to see!
-
Have you noticed that more and more new clothes don’t have labels? The information is printed right onto the garment. Before long, this quilt will look like a real antique, a time capsule of turn-of-the-century fashion labels.
-
Directions:
-
1. Gather labels: Get your seam ripper and reading glasses to help you harvest labels from your family’s shirts, sweaters, coats (they’re nice and big!), robes, neckties, slacks, dresses, skirts, etc. About 7-8 labels will fill one block, but having some extras will give you more options when arranging them.
-
2. Cut a 6 ½” square for your block from quilter’s cotton fabric in a quiet neutral color such as: tan, khaki, brown, gray, charcoal, black, rust, dark plum, or navy etc. Solids, stripes, and tone-on-tone are all good. You might choose shirtings like Oxford stripes. If you have some cheddar gold or red, a bit of that will jazz the quilt up nicely. So, as with all quilts, you be the judge. Remember this is a “Stress-Free Zone.”
-
3. Arrange your labels, staying about ¾” away from the edges of your foundation block. Machine appliqué them in place, folding under any raw edges so the label won't unravel. I use taupe thread for all the labels. Backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam keeps them secure. Bits of masking tape hold the labels in place while I’m sewing. (I sew right through the tape.)
-
4. If you have some gaps between your labels, adding a small flat button or two looks very nice.
-
Since we meet at the Fashion Institute in New York's Garment District, isn't it fitting that we make a quilt like this?
-
We can't wait to see your finished blocks in October.
-
This pattern was created by Karen Griska.

Fashion Labels Quilt (Part 2 of 2)

This quilt top made by Karen Griska is just an illustration of a possible setting with button-covered sashing. The squares are larger than the ones in the BOM, but the idea is the same. She is still pondering the border possibilities.

Sugar Stick Quilt (Part 1 of 3) Sept 2009

Welcome to the New 2009-2010 Empire Block of the Month! The BOM Squad has lots of fresh new ideas. Each project takes less than 20 minutes. So join the fun!
-
This month we have a block created by Karen Griska called "Sugar Stick." It looks tricky, but it's not! There is no measuring, just some simple slicing and inserting of strips. Quick and easy!
-
Take a look at the photos below. A picture is worth a thousand words.
-
Directions:
1. Cut a 6 ½” square, and four 1” x 9” strips.
2. Cut the square in half diagonally, as shown in the first "how-to"photo.
3. Insert a 1” strip between the 2 triangles. Press.
4. Cut the square in half diagonally again, this time in the other direction. Insert a strip between these 2 triangles. Press seams toward strips, not triangles.
5. Repeat, following the photos.
6. Trim the block to 6” square, and you're done!
-
Color Recipe: When choosing fabrics for these blocks, think candy store colors: fireball red, bubble gum pink, original M&M colors, jelly bean colors, candy canes, licorice, chocolate, pastels, polka dots, stripes, solids, or happy prints. Lots of variety is perfect!
-
Scroll down to see Part 2 and Part 3.

Sugar Stick Quilt (Part 2 of 3)

Scroll down to see Part 3.

Sugar Stick Quilt (Part 3 of 3)

Final Step: Trim your block to 6" square (above).
-
Karen Griska made the quilt below using a different fabric recipe: old fashioned fabrics that look like Lucy Ricardo's dresses. Of course if you win the blocks, your setting may be very differrent! Scroll down to see some detail photos.

We can't wait to see your Sugar Stick blocks! If you bring 2 blocks, you are entered in the drawing twice. This is so much fun, you might want to make a bunch!